James Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder, made his comeback in the national team after he was dropped following the Black Caps’ defeat against Bangladesh in the 2017 edition of the Champions Trophy in England. He was included to play the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka and the 28-year-old hasn’t let his team and supporters down by any stretch of the imagination.

In the first match at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, he came to bat in the fag end of the Kiwis’ innings and scored 47 runs from 13 balls with as many as six sixes. Moreover, he laid into Lankan speedster Thisara Perera and demolished him for 34 runs with five hits into the stands in a single over. The Auckland-born cricketer didn’t flatter to deceive with the leather in hand either.

Neesham at the very best

He went on to pick up three wickets, including the ones of Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka and Dinesh Chandimal and helped his team to a victory by 45 runs. Even in the second match at the same venue, Neesham put forth a stunning all-round show, that not only carved a 21-run victory against the Islanders but also guided them to a series-triumph with one match remaining.

He came to bat in the 38th over and churned out 64 runs from 37 balls with the help of five boundaries and three sixes. While bowling, he got the prized wicket of Gunathilaka and the picked up Lakshan Sandakan. With the World Cup scheduled to be played next year in England and Wales, Neesham has also made a case for himself to be included for the 50-overs extravaganza.

In the meantime, Twitter is ruing the fact that James’ performances are coming after the auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which took place a couple of weeks ago. Neesham was registered at a base price of INR 75 lakhs. Unfortunately, his name never went under the hammer. Twitterati reckons the experienced campaigner deserves a place in the IPL.

Here is how Twitter reacted

@JimmyNeesh 'Neesham has been outstanding after his comeback', If he would've been included few days back; with definite cause he'd have been a very big buy in @IPL Auctions. What a player he is, Just a bizzare blockbuster hitter, who fails a very little for @BLACKCAPS. #NZvSL